Select Page

I’ve officially been in Oaxaca for a week now, but I have to admit it has felt like so much longer, in the best way possible! Over this past week, I’ve visited so many places, such as Monte Albán, an ancient ruins of the Zapotec indigenous people, El Árbol del Tule, an over 2,000-year-old tree, San Bartolemé Quialana, an indigenous town near Oaxaca city, and many more. I’ve also eaten so many new foods, such as enfrijoladas, a black bean soup, tlayudas, similar to what we consider quesadillas in the United States, agua de jamaica, a beautiful and delicious drink made of hibiscus flowers, and, similar to the places I’ve visited, countless more.

But my study abroad experience has been much richer than the places I’ve visited and the foods I’ve eaten. As I’ve been learning in my culture class here, these are only topical parts of culture. Over the duration of my study abroad experience, I will curate a blog each week that discusses a different aspect of culture below a topical level. This week, I will begin by sharing my experiences with additional language learning and the significance between language learning here in Oaxaca and the United States.

My experiences with additional language learning in the past have only extended out to three short years of Spanish class in high school and a little bit of self-taught American Sign Language, so I knew studying abroad in Oaxaca would truly be an immersive language learning experience. I am taking a formal Spanish language class at the state university here, but many of my experiences learning Spanish are also made in the natural world — interactions with my host family, Oaxacan students, street vendors, and other individuals. My Spanish has been improving through these interactions, and the words and grammar I use daily are beginning to become more concrete.

My Spanish language learning is often faced with a small, internal barrier, though. Alongside Spanish, so many of the individuals in Oaxaca speak English to some degree, with many individuals even being able to speak an additional third or fourth language at least a little! This often challenges my Spanish language learning because it allows me the choice to either speak English or to speak Spanish. My need to learn the language is not as high because I can use English as my form of communication if I choose to. This makes my learning dependent upon my own personal choice to engage with the language. This may seem like an easy choice to make, as part of my studies here are to learn more Spanish, but I’ve come to learn how cognitively (and sometimes physically) taxing additional language learning can be. Many times, I feel the strain put on my mind and body, as I work to focus on processing and producing the Spanish language in my interactions. Sometimes by the end of the day, I can often find myself having a difficult time speaking or understanding both Spanish and English because of this strain!

Not only do I think this is a critical observation because it gives light to experiences additional language learners face, but it has also illuminated me to the privilege many of us uphold in the United States by only speaking one language. The United States’ education system does not heavily engage in additional language learning. I theorize that this is because the United States recognizes, and takes advantage, of the privilege it indulges in because of its heavy linguistic, among other types of, influence around the globe. When I, or anyone in the United States, makes the decision to not learn and engage in an additional language, we indulge in the privilege we have created by the United States’ influence around the globe.